Broken
by PineappleKoala
Summary: A tragic falling out has left Grell and William on opposite sides in a horrible war. What will become of them and their kind? The sequel to Unhinged: Please read that one first, or else you won't understand Broken!


**Well here I am. After a very busy Holiday Season at work, I have returned to bring you Broken! Mind you, this one is a might bit more complicated and it does have some oc's, but I promise you, no mary-sues. They're only background characters because, well... I needed background characters lol. **

**Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the sequel to Unhinged; Broken. **

**-PK**

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><p>William didn't know how long he was laying in darkness. He knew he was in pain, more than he'd care to admit, and he knew he was in trouble, more than he may be able to survive. It wasn't until he heard two very familiar voices that his mind registered that he wasn't laying in his bed, or even in the infirmary. It was when he heard Father speaking to Ciel Phantomhive that he realized that he must be laying in a guest bedroom at the Phantomhive manor. He didn't want to move; his heart hurt and it had nothing to do with his broken ribs.<p>

What did he do? What in the world possessed him to do something so stupid?

He rolled over and winced; he forgot he still had it in his jacket pocket. Listening carefully, he decided the voices were outside the room and reached in, pulling out a small box. Opening his eyes, he set the small box on the pillow next to him and opened it. He hated himself. He hadn't meant for any of that to happen. He should've just kept his mouth shut. The small ruby and gold ring glittered in the box, reminding William so much of Grell. He couldn't believe that he had done what he did. Closing the box, he set it on the table next to the bed and fished around for his glasses.

"The older man has them." A woman's voice from the other side of the bed startled him. Elizabeth was sitting there, a kind smile on her face. "He said he's going to fix them for you. That ring… Was it for Mr. Grell?" Her green eyes were wide and kind. There was no disgust, just honest, sad curiosity. William refused to say anything, just lying silently, stony-faced, even as Elizabeth mopped at his head with a cool cloth. He winced; apparently his cracked skull hadn't fully healed yet. "That man out there is pretty mad at you. He said to let him know as soon as you woke up. There's another guy with him too. Apparently a book went missing from the Library you work at." William glanced over at the young woman. He didn't understand why she was still talking. Elizabeth glanced at the door then quickly leaned in, muttering almost silently in William's ear.

"That man, Grell. When he left, there was so much sadness in his face. The way he looked at you when he walked away was so full of pain. I think he really does still love you." Elizabeth spared him a small, sad smile. William was confused, though he didn't show it.

"Why are you telling me this?" William muttered, his voice cracking. Elizabeth didn't seem to notice. For that, at least, William was grateful.

"You gave me my Ciel back from that demon. I never liked how attached Ciel was to Sebastian." She said with a straight face. William nodded, his whole body aching. But it was moving, so that meant he was healed significantly. A knock on the door interrupted him. "Come in!" Elizabeth called, handing the ring box back to William. The reaper shoved it back in his coat pocket quickly as the door opened and an older man entered the room, along with Ciel Phantomhive. Tanaka was behind Ciel and came over to William with a glass of water. William gratefully accepted.

"Spears, you really fucked up this time!" The old Shinigami said in a stern voice. Beside William, Elizabeth winced, but sat quietly. "You let Sutcliff not only make a new Shinigami, but walk out of here with the strongest of our kind in existence! The Undertaker I can understand. He's a rogue reaper and has been since he created Sutcliff, it's only natural he'd side with his creation. But Ronald Knox too? That young punk-ass has been learning from Sutcliff for years. And now he's brought back his partner from when he went rogue. You fucked up Spears. You're lucky I don't fire your incompetent ass. Now haul yourself out of that bed. We gotta find some way to fix this mess..." William nodded, shoving himself up on his elbows. He could see Ciel smirking at him from behind the large man and it made William want to beat the little human until he was black and blue, but instead he just sat at the edge of the bed and put his shoes back on. Ciel cleared his throat and started walking out.

"We'll be holding a meeting in the west drawing room. Tanaka, please go fetch Finny and tell him to look over Mey-Rin, then bring the tea. Elizabeth, if you would please accompany Mr. Spears down after he washes his face off. I will be showing Mr. Anderson to the drawing room." Ciel walked out of the room, the still fuming Lawrence Anderson following him. William heard another, unfamiliar man's voice outside the door and figured it had to be whomever Anderson had brought with him. Carefully, he tied his shoes and stood, wondering where his death scythe was and feeling quite blind. He felt a tap on his shoulder and Tanaka held out a pair of glasses for him—his old academy glasses.

"Mr. Anderson said you would be needing these." The old man regarded him in a strange way before bowing and leaving the room. William sighed, turning back to Elizabeth. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek for a second before asking what had been nagging at him.

"Why are you helping me?" He asked, taking the cloth from her and wiping the blood off his face and hands. He was sore and stiff all over but he was moving. Small blessings, he supposed. Putting his old academy glasses on, he looked over at Elizabeth. She was waiting patiently at the door, no longer wearing her wedding dress, but normal clothes, and offered him a small, genuine smile.

"You might not want to hear it, but I suppose you're the kind of man that would insist anyway. It was my Aunt Anne that taught me that love shouldn't be judged. When people love each other, then nothing else matters. She taught me that shortly after taking in a jittery, shy new butler named Grell." Elizabeth headed out the door as William followed her, turning right and heading down the hallway. "My Aunt Anne confided in me that she thought she might love her butler. Not like she loved the man of her dreams, she said, but enough." Elizabeth gave him a stern gaze that made him feel like he wronged her in some way. "And then, when I saw her beloved butler hanging from the ceiling like a corpse, I tried to get him down, only to realize he was still alive. He told me that he was fine and to leave him there, it was a prank to see what the servants did. So I decorated him and made him laugh." Elizabeth smiled, looking far away. "I've never told anyone this, but that man Grell took better care of me than anyone else in the house ever did." The pair stopped, just outside the west drawing room.

"He treated you better than your fiancée's servants?" William asked, heartbroken and frustrated with himself for never bothering to get to know Grell as well as he should have.

"He treated me better than that demon, Sebastian, did." Elizabeth made a face that plainly said she didn't think much of Sebastian. "I met Grell as his real self a year after Aunt Anne died. He had brought roses to her grave and was singing to her at sunset. He almost left when I got there, but I asked him to stay and sang with him. Then I asked him where he got the giant gash in his head. He told me that he was different, and the man he loved had hurt him again. He said 'William doesn't mean to be so cruel, I don't think. I just don't think he knows that I really care.' Since then, I've prayed for Grell and that he would find happiness. You asked me why I'm helping you? I'm not. I'm just stalling for time, time for Grell and Aunt Anne to get far away from you. I want them to be happy, and an abusive man like you isn't happiness. So, Mister William T. Spears, from me to you: I hope you either clean up your act or die trying." With a fierce look in her green eyes, Elizabeth threw the door open, waiting for William to walk in and take his seat, shame-faced, before sitting herself, next to Ciel at the head of the table. At the other end was Lawrence Anderson, a brunette man William had never seen before and Will himself. But at the head, opposite Ciel, was a white haired woman with an ethereal quality so brilliant it made the Shinigamis' seem dull. Her long hair hid her face as she cradled it in her delicate hands.

"So, Mr. Anderson. How are your people going to fix this? You reapers have destroyed half my grand hall, injured one of my workers, ruined my wedding, brought my dead aunt back to life and killed my butler." The anger in Ciel's voice was obvious. But beneath it, William thought he heard a bit of amusement. _Sadist…_

"Well, Phantomhive, I—" Anderson started, only to be silenced by the woman sitting next to him gently placing a luminescent hand on his shoulder.

"Lawrence, calm yourself." Her voice was a gentle, delicate alto that resounded with the intensity of time itself in it. She lifted her gaze to Ciel and William caught sight of her eyes, and was shocked.

They were so green they were almost black, and if her voice echoed with time, then her gaze reflected the universe. It was like he could see every galaxy and star in the depths of those eyes. Ciel seemed to be at a loss for words and she smiled, so radiant it was like the sun was rising. William knew in that instant that this was their Creator; the one that was truly the Goddess of Death and not just a Reaper. She placed her radiant hands on the table, delicately, and scanned each face.

"Ciel," she started, fixing her gaze on the young Earl, "You will be compensated. But I do ask your assistance in finding our missing agents. I do not ask much; just for your people to keep an eye out for them and report to my people should they be seen anywhere. Is that reasonable?" She paused as the young Earl stammered his embarrassed response.

"Y-yes. I'll alert Soma and Agni to it as well so they can watch from my summer home." Ciel seemed taken aback by the woman. The whole room did for that matter; the only one who seemed the slightest bit at ease was the brunette at whom Ciel kept gazing. William was quite stunned by this. If _she_ had shown up, that means he had truly fucked up like he never had before.

"Thank you. Now, as I am being rude, let me introduce myself." The woman swept to her feet, her long white gown ghosting across the floor as she walked to stare out a window before addressing the room. "I am known as Morganna. I am the single original entity known as Death. I am here because one of our own as gone rogue and it is imperative that he is brought back, to be judged by a panel of his peers from the Judgement Bureau—"

"Judgement Bureau?" William exclaimed, standing. "You intend to kill him?" He realized he was making a scene but he didn't care: Shinigami only went before the Judgement Bureau if they committed a truly heinous crime. Sure, leaving was against regulations but he didn't think it warranted a death sentence. Morganna cast her eternal gaze on him and he sat, afraid.

"All six Shinigami are to be tried for treason, even those just born." Morganna said, glancing back out the window. Her voice was soft, though, and Will knew in that moment that her choice was a heavy burden. But the math wasn't right.

"With all due respect, my grace, there are only four—" Morganna raised a hand and silenced him.

"You have been unconscious for several days William. Much has past. Grell's numbers have increased. He now has five companion reapers and two demon… slaves, for lack of a better word." Morganna looked sadly out the window before walking over to William, sitting next to him and taking his hands. "This is a great burden to you William, but for your role in this upheaval and eventual attack, it is going to be your job to retrieve them for judgement. If you do not, then you will suffer the same charges." William blanched and Morganna looked forlornly at her brunette companion. "Mr. Aberline, the newest member of the Judgement Bureau, will be accompanying you, along with my assistant. He will be here shortly. But until then we have much to discuss. If you are to successfully bring Grell Sutcliff back at this point, I think it better to know his whole history." Morganna released William's hands and took her place at the head of the table again. Everyone seemed to be wondering the same thing, but it was Elizabeth that finally brought it up.

"Why do my husband and I need to know as well?" She asked, looking at the woman with a cautious eye. Morganna nodded and laced her ivory fingers together.

"Seeing as one of the demons Grell is commanding is a demon that he's dealt with before, the demon Faustus, I thought Ciel might want to know what will have to be done." Elizabeth nodded, looking disapproving. Ciel, however, was paying close attention. It disgusted William. But there was something he had to confirm for himself first.

"Who are the reapers I will be bringing in?" William asked, his heart heavy. Morganna looked saddened again and turned her universal gaze his way.

"Active agents Grell Sutcliff and Ronald Knox, rogue retiree Armand Deschain*, and newborns Angelina Durless, Chen Lau* and Li Ran Mao*." She said with a note of finality. William wasn't as shocked as he thought he would be by the news that both Lau and Ran Mao were now his kind, but he was shocked that Morganna wanted him to go against so many people with only one other qualified Shinigami, and one member of the Judgement Bureau. He frowned, then realized that Ciel was trying to get their attention.

"Who's this Deschain person?" The Earl asked. The brunette Judgement member clicked his tongue and William realized where he had seen the man. He used to be a member of Scotland Yard before he died.

"I would have expected you to know, Earl. Deschain is the false name that the Undertaker's shop is registered under. " Fred Aberline said, fixing his hair and spinning his hat in his hand. William nodded, settling in to listen. Morganna sat herself, brushing the white hair off her shoulders and started to speak.

"I was there the day Grell Sutcliff was brought to the Library—"

"Get off me!" There was a crash, and a heavy thud and everyone in the room jumped. The ruckus outside was loud, and it sounded like someone was wrestling with Finnian. William groaned internally. He knew that woman's voice and wasn't surprised when the door got shoved open, Finnian trying to hold back a struggling young reaper with burgundy hair and academy glasses. Miah was a student at the Academy that Grell and William had befriended when she was just created; after all, they had been the ones to retrieve her soul. She struggled, throwing Finnian off and slammed her hands on the table.

"I wanna help!" She screamed, before calming down a bit. "Miss Morganna, I wanna help. Grell's like a mother to me, I don't wanna see him terminated. Please. Let me go with William, I'll talk some sense into Grell!" Morganna looked flustered as a blonde youth slid next to her and spoke in her ear. Silently, she nodded. But Will was more interested in the blonde. He looked so familiar… Miah sat down next to him on one side, the blonde taking the seat between him and Morganna.

"Hello Will. It's been a long time. I was sad to hear that it would be Grell I was hunting." Thomas Wallis smiled. William was almost floored by the fact that is was Wallis that had become Morganna's assistant, but at the same time, he was not surprised at all. After all, his life had gone from odd and slightly annoying to just plain weird a long time ago. Morganna cleared her throat and tried to continue on with her story.

"Like I was saying, I was there the day that Grell Sutcliff was brought into the Library…"

"_Let me go! I said let me go, mother fucker, before I rip your fucking face off!" The young red head thrashed in the grip of the silver haired man, his fiery locks falling from its black ribbon and whipping loosely around his face. Morganna had never seen such rage in a newborn, or such rage. He was almost frightening, except she could tell all his rage was from fear. She saw it in his acid toned eyes as she approached. Armand, however, was not as calm, his face bloody and scarred. She pitied him, but there was nothing she could do about those scars, she had more pressing matters. The red head had gotten loose. _

"_Where the fuck am I?" he screamed, turning in a circle, his leather riding boots clicking on the marble floors. The poor dear. He had been the son of a noble before he died. No wonder he was so petulant. Grabbing a nearby reaper by the shirt, he ripped the death scythe from the man's hand, holding the hand sickle in front of him. Morganna was vaguely interested in the fact that the man was left handed. Normally lefties were marked as spawns of Satan and left to die in this era. The man looked very confused and kept squinting at her. She guessed he had had perfect eyesight before his death and couldn't understand why he was having a hard time seeing. _

"_What's this one's name, Armand?" the silver reaper, who had been trying to wipe the blood from his face, turned, looking at the scared red head. _

"_Sutcliff. Grell Sutcliff. Found him on the English countryside. Don't actually know where he came from. His name is very odd…" Armand answered, his voice weary. He looked tired, and carefully sat on the marble floor. The redhead Grell huffed and pointed the sickle at him. _

"_My mother was a noblewoman from the ancient, noble city of Köln!** She married an English nobleman and my father agreed to name me after my deceased Großvater…**" the redhead bared his teeth and Morganna started. They weren't teeth. They were _fangs.

"_Who did that to you, my child…?" she asked, carefully stepping forward, her white slippers silent on the marble. Grell stared at her, his fiery hair shining and contrasting with his acidic eyes. They had to have been the purest gold in his mortal life to have turned that colour in death***, she mused. Grell made a confused expression before lowering the scythe gently. _

"_I don't really know. I saw myself die, and was so grateful. My stepbrother had made a contract with a demon and traded the demon MY soul instead of his own, so I had been running. Then my horse jumped a wall and there was a carriage on the other side. So my horse reared. I fell off. Carriage ran me over. I died, but the demon didn't get me. So I was happy. Then I saw him. He told me not to worry, he was just here to transport me to a place I could rest." Grell paused. Morganna was confused for all of a moment before she realized he had thought she had asked about his death, not his teeth. "Then I saw the demon come and attack Death. Then, all I remember before this place is pain, and blood. And power. So much. More than I've ever imagined. Then I was here. So, where the hell am I? I thought I was dead! I thought I wasn't going to have to worry about this shit anymore! What the fuck is going on!" Grell had the scythe up again. The room was so tense it was palpable. Morganna only prayed no one moved. _

_Out of the corner of her eye, Morganna saw someone move. Then it was like it all went into slow motion. The reaper that had tried to apprehend Grell was sliced with the stolen scythe, his cinematic record exploding into the air. And Grell, Grell… Grabbed it. Absorbed it. Like it was part of himself. Shinigami could do that, but it was highly dangerous to them. It could kill them. But instead, the prone, deceased reaper lay at his feet. And the man redhead was swinging for more. Reaper after reaper, soul after soul. Made part of himself. Morganna watched as Armand swung his scythe and Grell ran around it, caught the silver haired man in the hand, just the tiniest fragment was taken. _

_But it was oh so important. What Grell took… Was Armand's name itself. _

_Morganna felt it tug at her being, as she forgot what his real name was. Grell hadn't just taken a record, she had taken a piece of the collection. She couldn't let it go on. And then the world sped up again and she was running at the deranged noble. He swung and she grabbed the scythe: she WAS the collective. The scythes were a piece of her. It vanished; Grell called out in surprise and stepped back as Morganna grabbed his head, pulling everything from the collective, from the other reapers and charging it in herself. She sent a jolt of pure energy through the newborn and he screamed, falling, unconscious. Morganna stumbled back, caught by the still bleeding Silver Reaper. _

"_Take him… Lock him up. We have to make him forget his birth… Then bury the others. Do not by any means let him out…!" She was weak. She couldn't do that, it was dangerous… She could have killed all the reapers. _

"_But Morganna… Shouldn't we destroy him? He's dangerous." Armand asked. Morganna shook her head. _

"_No… I want to raise him like a normal reaper. I have big plans for this one…" Morganna closed her eyes, exhausted. So many big things… She wanted Grell left alive. _

William was stunned. He had no idea about Grell's past. It seemed like he had never even knew the man… why hadn't he gotten to know him better? Why hadn't he just tried to learn about Grell's past, his life, his mind… Instead of being needlessly jealous of a dead woman? Miah was shaking her head vigorously, like she was trying to get Morganna's tale our of her head. William understood; Grell had taught her almost everything she knew. Hearing so much bad stuff about her mentor and, well, mother figure, was probably very hard. Will couldn't take much more than that. He stood up, blindly, his heart hurting and his self loathing at the maximum, and ran out the room. He just wanted to be alone right now.

No Thomas Wallis to remind him of their time in the academy.

No Fred Aberline to remind him of when he and Grell took on a rogue angel.

No Miah to make him think of the countless hours they spent in the Academy tutoring hall helping her for exam after exam.

Telling Grell it's not okay to make pencils stick in the ceiling…

Waking up on cold mornings to feel Grell's arms around him as they slept…

No more making cookies at Christmastime…

No more birthdays together…

No more happy memories.

William was devastated as he almost flew through the countryside into the city. He just wanted to forget. But even his own brain betrayed him as he stopped outside of Thomas Wallis's former residence. The first time he and Grell had ever coupled had been here. Their first memories. Everything. He almost cried as he clutched the front of his shirt, as if he could grip his heart through the fabric. It just hurt so much…

"William…?" It was so quiet, Will thought at first he just imagined it. But when he turned around, lo and behold, his spirit soared as much as it sunk.

It was Grell.

"William, what are you doing here?" Grell asked. Will's heart almost broke to see that the flamboyant redhead was back to wearing the copious amounts of make-up he used to and had changed his hair to it was long again. So he wasn't his Grell. But William just couldn't bring himself to care. He moved, walking straight up to the redhead and pulled him into a tight embrace. His heart pounded as he felt Grell's arms wrap around him tightly. Pulling away only briefly, he caught the redhead's lips and kissed him fiercely. Grell's familiar warmth filled him. Maybe they could just ignore everything that happened and just go back?

Grell pulled away and crushed himself to William again, nuzzling his neck. William, for one fleeting moment, thought that it was going to be okay. It would all be okay. He felt Grell sigh onto his neck.

"Run away..." Grell muttered. William was confused.

"Grell?" He asked.

"Run away…" He felt Grell's grip on his back become painful and those razor fangs were bared against his neck. William's heart pounded away, but this time, it was out of fear. "I'll attack." William's blood curdled. Grell shoved him away, still baring his fangs and his eyes cold and distant.

"I. Will. Attack."

And William believed him.

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><p><strong>*"Armand Deschain"- A name I gave to the Undertaker, since he doesn't have one. Not actually his name, but I think it fit him. It's French in origin. "Chen Lau"- Lau didn't have a last name, so I gave him one. "Li Ran Mao"- Same as Lau, she needed a last name. I did research for them and found very general, typical Chinese surnames. Which is also why I wrote it like I did, surnames first. <strong>

****"_Köln_"****- Germanic city. "_Großvater_"****- German for Grandfather. I'm using German terms mainly because when I searched his name, it came up as Germanic in origin. **

***** I think it's boring that all the Shinigami should have EXACTLY the same eye colour, so I think it should vary by what they had when they were mortal. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! **

**-Pk **


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